March 08, 2017

For International Women's Day, we asked several of the women around the IU Press offices which books by women on our list stood out to them the most. Here's what they had to say.

Dee Mortensen - Editorial Director

I like Dorothy Hodgson’s four books with us. Always focused, always thoughtful, and sensitive to the concerns of women. Her latest book Gender, Justice, and the Problem of Culture is forthcoming this month. She is a past-President of the African Studies Association and makes a strong case for why every one of us should be concerned about rural women.

Kate Schramm - Assistant Acquisitions Editor

My vote is with Leigh Edwards’ Dolly Parton, Gender, and Country Music (out next spring). I love books that make me go hunting for more just to satisfy my own curiosity! Dolly is a phenomenon, and Leigh’s book just reinforces how complex the ideas of gender roles and gender expectations can be, while also showing how much freedom people have in playing with, subverting, and challenging those same roles and expectations. I recommend reading this one while listening to one of Dolly’s live stage shows on YouTube—I’ll never think about her the same way again.

Shannon Brown - Scholarly Marketing and Publicity Manager

A title that stands out for me is Amateur Movie Making, which is due out in June. It is an edited volume about a niche subject, but what makes it enjoyable to be a part of is the editors’ enthusiasm about the project. Authors are always the best marketers for their work, and Martha J. McNamara and Karan Sheldon are eager to learn about how they can help the book be successful. That in itself is a big step in the right direction.

I'm really looking forward to Gaming Representation, edited by Jennifer Malkowski and TreaAndrea M. Russworm. This book has it all – female media scholars, media representations of gender, pop culture analysis - and video games! I cannot overstate how much I am looking forward to reading this when it comes out.

March 07, 2017

A message from Alvin Rosenfeld, director of the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism here at IU:

Last Tuesday’s New York Times carried a lengthy front-page story entitled “Threats Leave Jews on Edge in Trump Era.” And on the same day, the USA Today ran an equally prominent story with the headline “Jewish Communities Besieged by Vandals.” Both stories and numerous others like them deal with the upsurge in anti-Jewish hostility in multiple locations around the country. Jewish institutions in some 33 cities have been targeted for bomb threats; about 100 of these attacks have occurred over the past several weeks. And, to everyone’s concern here, Indiana has not been exempt from this hatred: Indianapolis’s Jewish Community Center was targeted with a bomb threat, and a synagogue in Evansville, Indiana was shot at just last week. In addition, Jewish cemeteries have been desecrated in Philadelphia and near St. Louis; swastika daubings have defaced Jewish properties in several cities; and some of America’s campuses are rife with angry and aggressive anti-Israel and antisemitic activities.

In short, anti-Jewish hostilities in America are on the upsurge and, to date, law enforcement agencies have not been successful in stopping the spread of this hatred or in identifying who is behind it. Just how bad it is likely to get, no one can say for certain, but the signs at the moment are not good and lots of people out there—Jews and non-Jews alike--know it.

At such an ominous time, serious teaching and scholarship on antisemitism have been lacking. Fortunately, Indiana University is an exception. Our Institute for the Study of ContemporaryAntisemitism (ISCA), which I direct, is one of only two university-based centers in this country that focuses systematic, high-level research on contemporary antisemitism. In addition, IU Press is emerging as our country’s leading academic publisher in the field of antisemitism studies with the on-going book series “Studies in Antisemitism” and, launching April 1st, the new journal Antisemitism Studies. Anyone who wants to understand the return of anti-Jewish hatred into the public sphere – what motivates it, how it manifests itself, who its major actors are, how it both resembles and differs from the past – will benefit greatly from the work that ISCA and IU Press are doing.

Now Available:

Deciphering the New Antisemitism

Edited by Alvin H. Rosenfeld

European Muslim Antisemitism: Why Young Urban Males Say They Don't Like Jews

by Günther Jikeli

Resurgent Antisemitism: Global Perspectives

Edited by Alvin H. Rosenfeld

Radical French Thought and the Return of the "Jewish Question"

by Eric Marty

Translated by Alan AstroForeword by Bruno Chaouat

Dreams DeferredA Concise Guide to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Movement to Boycott Israel

Curtis's book details the long history of Muslim service members who have defended their country from the War of 1812 to recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The author's lecture will begin at 5:30 pm in the Oak Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. A book signing will begin immediately after the lecture.

Curtis is Millennium Chair of the Liberal Arts and Professor of Religious Studies at the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Muslim Americans in the Military was published by Indiana University Press in October 2016 and is available in paperback and ebook formats.